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Whether or not you're successful with your e-mail project depends largely on careful planning and your ability to clearly define your expectations and convey those expectations to your students. To maximize your chances for success,
- Establish goals, expectations, and procedures in conjunction with the teacher of the class with whom your students will be communicating. Each time students e-mail their collaborating students, make it clear exactly what you want them to do such as, "Today, I want your group to write four sentences about our school's location and student body and e-mail it to your partners." Be prepared to be flexible; make changes to your expectations and procedures as necessary.
- Determine how student work will be evaluated. You might, for example, have students print their e-mails or forward them to you, and then grade the content of the e-mails. (Did students do what they were supposed to do? Did they observe the rules of Netiquette? Was their tone and language appropriate? Did they respond promptly?)
- Invite students to evaluate the project and write short essays reflecting on what they learned.
- Have students in both classes collaborate on a hands-on project. (Students might collect rainfall data in their area, share the data, and then use the data to generate a variety of conclusions on rainfall and climate, for example.)
- Ask the collaborating teacher to write a short e-mail reflecting on the value of the experience, and you do the same.
Next: Show me an example!
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